The Davis County native’s new children’s book, “Maybe It’s A Zebra,” was inspired by her grandson Steven’s imagination on a family car trip. Her granddaughter Leelyn started the illustration process, and after she died went on to inspire the illustrations in the rest of the book.

“It’s remarkable how I’ve felt the influence from Leelyn as I moved forward to get this book published,” said Atwood.

The book asks children several questions based around the colors black and white, such as “What is black and white and lives at a fire station?” The narrator then suggests that the animal in question might be a zebra before revealing the real answer on the following page.

“As an elementary teacher I was trained to look for children’s picture books that had repetition, patterns, new vocabulary and an opportunity to predict what would happen next,” said Bountiful resident Sandy J. Inman. “It was exciting to read ‘Maybe It’s A Zebra’ and find all these characteristics.”

Atwood got the idea after she asked her grandson what kind of animal was by the side of the road, and he answered that it might be a zebra. The incident became a family joke, then inspired Atwood to make her foray into writing children’s fiction.